Daniel Muasya is a registered veterinarian in Kenya working at the University of Nairobi as a clinician in the Large Animal Teaching Hospital. In this position his responsibilities are: 1) attending to clinical cases at the large animal unit, ambulatory services (farm service); 2) departmental veterinary outreach; and 3) teaching veterinary students both in class and during clinical rounds.
He is currently on study leave from his teaching position to pursue a PhD in Health Management here at the Atlantic Veterinary Collage at UPEI. He was awarded a PhD scholarship from the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships program, doing coursework in Canada and research in Kenya.
His research title is “Understanding the test results, benefits and criteria for vaccinating against Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus in Kenyan smallholder dairy cattle”
A cohort study and randomized controlled trial will determine the disease incidence and prevalence benefits of vaccinating against Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) on Kenyan smallholder dairy farms. BVDV antibody titre response variability from BVDV vaccination will also be determined when given to cows under different planes of nutrition and body condition scores (BCS) on smallholder dairy farms in Kenya to determine minimum criteria (BCS and mineral/dairy meal feeding) for utilizing BVDV vaccine effectively. Cross-reactivity of antibody and antigen tests among BVDV, classical swine fever virus, and border disease virus (all pestiviruses) will also be explored through genetic sequencing.